【Haichuan Expands Horizons】The main section of China’s first long-distance methanol pipeline project has been completed
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The last edit to this post was made by Desert Fish on June 5, 2020, at 13:34. According to news from the News Center of China National Petroleum Pipeline Bureau, on June 1, after 119 days of intensive construction work, the 51.5-kilometer long main section of the pipeline project for coal-based methanol production was completed. The starting point of the CNPC methanol pipeline project is the CNPC Tukou terminal; the pipeline passes through Tukou Town and Wushenzhao Town in Wushen Banner, with its end point at the Mengda terminal. The total length of the pipeline is 51.5 kilometers, and its design pressure is 2.5 megapascals. The medium transported along this pipeline is MTO methanol. There are 4 valve rooms along the entire pipeline, making it the first long-distance methanol pipeline project in the country. The Pipeline Bureau is responsible for the EPC general contracting of this project, overseeing the design, procurement, construction, individual unit testing, and combined system testing of the pipelines associated with the China Coal Methanol Project, until it is ready for operational testing. Since its establishment, the project department has leveraged the advantages of EPC full-process management to develop a work system suited to integrated management. It focuses on enhancing the proper coordination and integration of contract management, design, procurement, and construction activities, ensuring that all aspects are interconnected, thereby reducing resource waste and improving efficiency. Once construction begins, due to the characteristics of fieldwork on long-distance pipelines, the project faces constraints from both the Mu Us Desert environment and various social factors, resulting in limited available working hours for continuous construction. Meanwhile, 2020 was the year for the installation and commissioning of the CNPC’s technology upgrade project for producing 1 million tons of methanol from syngas; as a supporting pipeline project, it was necessary to ensure that its progress kept in step with the overall schedule of the project. Faced with schedule pressures, the project team overcame various constraints associated with field construction by refining procedures and plans in areas such as quality control, progress management, and HSSE oversight. They arranged project milestones strategically, allocated personnel and equipment flexibly, and ensured seamless coordination across all stages of work. As a result, they managed to weld up to 20.7 kilometers of pipeline in a single month, completing 7 overhead pipeline crossings, 3 directional drilling crossings, and 30 underground pipeline crossings. The main welding tasks were completed successfully, allowing the project to meet its scheduled milestones ahead of time. (Zhou Jing, Wang Aoyu) 【HaiChuan Expands Horizons】The main section of China’s first long-distance methanol pipeline project has been completed
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The Tsinghua furnace and the aerospace furnace are not of the same technical type; one is a fixed-bed furnace while the other is a fluidized-bed furnace. Their application areas also differ, so they cannot be compared to each other. If we have to compare the daily coal input figures, one is several hundred tons, while the other is 3,000 to 4,000 tons.
Many methanol long-distance pipelines have been planned in the industry, and there are numerous feasibility study reports as well; finally, a practical project has been implemented, although it is only 50 KM long.
If it’s 50 kilometers, it will become 500 kilometers. Everything is difficult at the beginning, as many people prefer to wait and see. When people see the benefits of pipeline transportation, they will flock to it. After all, it is an efficient, safe, environmentally friendly, low-cost, and round-the-clock method of material transportation.
The operation management and emergency management of such pipelines represent a new challenge
That’s true, but it shouldn’t be more complicated or require more than light oil transportation pipelines and high-pressure gas pipelines. I am full of confidence in these new applications.
This is in a desert area; it wouldn’t be possible in eastern regions. Should the pipeline design follow conventional standards or special designs, such as higher pressure levels and an increased proportion of non-destructive testing?
The requirements are higher than what you mentioned; this involves the transportation of dangerous and toxic chemicals through pipelines. There is not only no precedent for this, but also no guidelines or standards for carrying out such operations, so the difficulty involved can be imagined
This has actually been planned for a long time ============================== The first long-distance pipeline for methanol and dimethyl ether is set to be built on 2008/9/22/10:09. As several large-scale enterprises producing methanol and dimethyl ether in Inner Mongolia began operations one after another, local production of these substances increased rapidly. To address the issue of transporting liquid chemicals, China plans to build a long-distance pipeline for methanol and dimethyl ether in Inner Mongolia, which will deliver them directly to the Bohai Bay. Currently, the pipeline projects for dimethyl ether and methanol are in the planning and feasibility study phase, according to information obtained by reporters from relevant departments in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on March 23. According to experts from the Economic Commission of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the region currently has a production capacity of 2 million tons of methanol per year, with additional production capacity under construction amounting to over 10 million tons. Building long-distance pipelines in Inner Mongolia aims to address the \"bottleneck\" that hinders the development of the chemical industry in the autonomous region and throughout China, namely the transportation issue. Over 90% of Inner Mongolia’s chemical products are sold outside the region and even in international markets; therefore, it is very important to address the issue of product transportation in order to achieve the development goals of the chemical industry by 2010. In particular, hazardous chemicals such as flammable and toxic liquids like methanol and dimethyl ether are even more difficult to transport due to their high level of danger and large volume. Therefore, while making full use of the existing railway and road transport capacity, the relevant departments in the autonomous region are considering the construction of liquid chemical delivery pipelines and dedicated heavy-load routes leading to coastal ports in energy and chemical industry bases, and have included these in the infrastructure development plan. Currently, the preliminary preparation work has already begun. Experts believe that the transportation cost of dimethyl ether is approximately between 0.5 and 0.9 yuan per ton per kilometer; if transported via pipeline, the cost might be around 0.2 yuan per ton per kilometer. It is estimated that by 2010, China’s total dimethyl ether production capacity will exceed 15.8 million tons ； Regarding methanol, it is predicted that by 2010, the world demand will be 40 million tons, while the domestic demand will be around 12 million tons. If oil prices remain high, the use of methanol as a fuel alternative will grow rapidly, leading to an **increase in the consumption of fuel methanol. Taking into account its use in the production of olefins, acetic acid, and dimethyl ether, the demand for methanol could reach 20 million tons by 2010. Therefore, if methanol and dimethyl ether are transported via pipelines from Inner Mongolia to the East China region, their economic advantages will be fully demonstrated.
The current situation regarding the transportation of methanol is no longer suitable for the needs of development; the methods used for transporting methanol over long distances are hindering the healthy progress of the coal chemical industry. “The current situation regarding the transportation of methanol is no longer suitable for the needs of development; the methods used for transporting methanol over long distances are hindering the healthy progress of the coal chemical industry.” ”This was stated by Feng Xiaoting, the first advisor to the China Chemical Industry Economic and Technical Development Center and director of the Jiangsu Coal Chemical Engineering Research and Design Institute, in an exclusive interview with our newspaper at the 2012 China International Coal Chemical Industry Exhibition and China International Coal Chemical Industry Development Forum held on December 6. Taking current transportation by truck and train as examples, the cost of transporting methanol by truck from Yinchuan in Ningxia to Zhangjiagang is 800–850 yuan per ton (including costs related to emptying the storage tanks), while the cost of transporting it by train from Kuqa in Xinjiang to Shanghai is 980 yuan per ton of methanol (also including costs related to emptying the storage tanks). “Methanol is a liquid with low viscosity, low corrosivity, and is easily biodegradable; it is relatively safe, making its properties suitable for pipeline transportation. ”Feng Xiaoting said. The existing modes of transportation affect the rational layout of coal chemical industries. Feng Xiaoting said that methanol serves both as a chemical raw material and as an energy carrier; the production of oxygenated compounds as well as various products such as \"trienes and triphenyls\" from methanol will gradually create a situation that is superior to that of petrochemical industries. Given China’s resource characteristics (lack of oil, limited gas reserves, and abundant coal), developing coal-based (clean alcohols and ethers) fuels will be an important option. Taking into account five factors including comprehensive resource availability, technical feasibility, economic viability, environmental friendliness, and safety, coal-based alcohol ether fuels can serve as the leading product among comprehensive alternative energy sources. Furthermore, methanol can also be used as a clean fuel, such as in the production of dimethyl ether (DME) to replace diesel, blended into liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or to replace dissolved acetylene. According to estimates and projections by relevant agencies, China’s methanol production will be 22.269 million tons in 2011, with consumption at 27.957 million tons; production is expected to reach 25.5 million tons in 2012, while consumption will be ≥30 million tons. By 2020, production is projected to reach 50 million tons, with consumption likely to be ≥60 million tons.